When you think of the Yakuza series, what comes to ♔ﷺmind? The action-packed gameplay, perhaps shirtless dudes, and of course, the minigames. Since Yakuza 1 on the PS2, all the games have been packed with side activities, and many are in more than just one entry. Often the game is essentially the same, but some have a total transformation.
What makes a good Yakuza minigame is a combination of fun factor, how unique it is, and how it continues to stay fun when fully completing it. If you're not having an enjoyable experience even after 100 percent completion, it likely won't make the cut.
10 🐬 Pocket Circuit
Featured in Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, Pocket Circuit has you race with toy cars against the other opponents on a premade track. The key feature is that you must build these cars yourself by buying parts at shops or obtaining them through other means. Once you first get a hold, it can be common to think that raw horsepower will win the day, but you'd be wrong.
Your car will often fly off the track for an instant loss. You need to find the right balance by going fast but not too fast. Even 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:if you're using a guide, winning the endgame races canﷺ still be tricky. Even so, throughout the entire completionꦅ process, it never gets boring and is constantly engaging.
9 Karaoke
Almost every Yakuza game features Karaoke, and it's one of the first minigames you'll likely play once the world is fully open. The songs have a lot of charm for many reasons. One is that the video sequence when doing Karaoke can be really wacky and often absurd. The other is that the Japanese actors voicing the protagonists do their own singing, even if they have no actual singing skills. It just gives off that earnest quality.
The actual gameplay itself is typical rhythm game fair, but the earlier Yakuza titles are noticeably harder than the more recent ones. Starting from Ya🍨kuza 6, Karaoke was made more accessible, which is good because not everyone has a good sense of rhythm💯.
8 🃏 Dragon Kart
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mortal Kombat isn't the only mature game to have a kart racing minigame: 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Yakuza: Like a Dragon introduced Dragon Kart. It's exactly what you'd expect, with the gameplay being most similar to the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mario Kart titles. ﷺThe tracks themselves and the core gameplay are really solid, considering its small ⛎scale.
The side plot for Dragon Kart reintroduces the Pocket Circuit Fighter, a narrative character from the Pocket Fighter side story. It's nice to see him return and have more stuff to do than in Yakuza 6. Throughout the completion process, the minigame remains enjoyable and doesn't drag on for too long like some others.
7 Cabar๊ಞet Club
The Cabaret Club is a 𓄧standout minigame in both Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami 2. Similar to something like Diner Dash, you must serve each customer and satisfy them accordingly to get the most money possible at the end of the shift. As time goes on, problems can arise with customers, and you must answer correctly by looking at the hand motions of the hostesses.
At first, you'll likely be a rough manager, but as time flies, you'll learn how to deal with customers accordingly, and it's very satisfying. There is a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:noticeable ♊difficulty spike toward the end of completion, but at that point, you should be experienced enough to handle 🃏it, and it keeps the minigame fun.
6 ℱ Kamuro Of The Dead ♔
Nostalgia is a powerful force and one of the primary reasons why Kamuro of the Dead from Judgment is a standout minigame in the franchise. The gameplay is similar to Sega's own 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:House of the Dead series, but with Kamurocho as the setting. The monsters here are actually reused from the zombie spinoff, Yakuza: Dead Souls, and it's neat to see that title get some callbacks.
This minigame doesn't have the visual flair of a real Sega arcade game, but it definitely plays like one. It feels amazing for a rail shooter on a controller and has that warm feeling of nostalgia for days gone by. In terms of the overall fun factor, Kamuro of the Dead is one of the top Yakuza minigames.
5 ﷽ Classic Darts
Like Karaoke, Darts had a major shakeup when Yakuza 6 la෴unched. However, it was not an improvement. The Classic Darts featured in Yakuza 3 to Kiwami had a very unique control scheme. You h🤪ad to aim the dart while simultaneously flicking the right analog stick to throw it.
The control method added a lot of depth with many methods of throwing, like pulling back halfway or making a slow, delayed shot. It was a blast to play through, but the more recent Darts got oversimplified. With Yakuza 6 onward, you simply aim the dart and time it right to make it go where you aim. It works, and the minigame's still enjoyable, but it can't beat the classic version.
4 Taxi Missions 🙈
Yakuza 5, being the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:GTA San Andreas of the franchise, offered many big minigames. The best one for Kiryu has to be the Taxi Missions. In terms of being unique and quirky, this one has it in spades. You chat with the passengers and need to 💟give correct responses during the short trip.
However, you also need to follow the rules of the road by watching out for people crossing the streets, turning on your turn signal, and stopping at red lights. The minigame is fun in its own right, but the story told with each new passenger keeps it engaging. Race Missions, the second minigame in Kiryu's side story, really drag on towards the end, but Taxi Missions are always fresh.
3 Wi𝓀nter Com🎃bat
Hunting is Saejima's main minigame in Yakuza 5, but one of the smaller ones is Winter Combat. Found in Tsukimino, Winter Combat is a short but sweet experience throughout your Yakuza 5 journey. It's a snowball fight but in the style of an FPS, and it controls really well.
There's only six challenges, which is the perfect length. Six is just the amount of play time that the minigame remains fun without losing its luster. Blasting through all six goes by fast, but remains thoroughly enjoyable and one-of-a-kind in the franchise.
2 🐈 🉐 Clan Creator
One of the best, if not the best, minigames introduced in Yakuza 6 was the Clan Creator. It's an RTS, but similar to Pocket Circuit; you get clan members by doing various side activities throughout the game. You can even 168澳洲幸运5开🔯奖网:enter special codes to get certain memꦑbers.
For a small-scale RTS minigame, Clan Creator is very fun and actually takes some good strategy and play to beat. You can't zerg rush your way to victory, at least not in the later levels. In Yakuza Kiwami 2, they made it even more tense because your main goal is to protect Majima Construction equipment. This makes the placements of fighters even more vital.
1 Batting Cages ❀
The Battling Cages are found in virtually every Yakuza title, and the gameplay has remained mostly the same. In Yakuza 3 through Kiwami, you need to manually aim your bat but also time your hit at the perfect moment. Starting with Shinada's side story in Yakuza 5 and full-on with Yakuza 6, aiming's been simplified to a nine-square grid, but the focus is still on timing.
It's the only minigame in the series that actually has that riding-a-bike feel in that once you learn it, you never forget. Even when a new Yakuza title comes out, starting the batting cages is like returning to a beloved game you haven't played for a year, but you're still just as good at it and remember everything. That is what makes the Batting Cages so special.